Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Rainbow’ Video Finds Beauty in Darkness

The artistic video follows a few different people who are facing different difficulties in their lives, from a struggling new mother to a young man hiding his true identity. Throughout the video, each character confronts their inner demons. Musgraves acts as a guardian angel, watching over each person and bringing a sense of calmness as she sings, "Well the sky is finally open, the rain and wind stopped blowin' / But you're stuck out in the same old storm again / You hold tight to your umbrella, darlin' I'm just tryin' to tell ya / That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head." The story ends with Musgraves sitting in a garden as a rainbow shines overhead of each person, symbolizing peace.

"Rainbow" is the last track and fifth single from her Grammy Award-winning album Golden Hour. Musgraves wrote the song six years before its release and performed it at her grandmother's funeral, as it was her grandmother's favorite song. The singer recorded multiple versions of the song live and included the most affecting rendition on the album.

Upon Golden Hour's release, Musgraves expressed how she hoped "Rainbow" would offer a sense of encouragement to people facing difficult times, particularly the LGBTQ community. An advocate for acceptance and diversity, Musgraves includes representation in the video, with interracial couples and a young man whose seen putting on makeup and coming out to his parents.

She delivered a beautiful arrangement of "Rainbow" during the 2019 Grammy Awards, with many fans remarking how they found the video through her performance, calling the song and video "beautiful magic," breathtaking" and "emotional" and noting how they identify with the characters.